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| Proper head count of prisoners not taken |
| By wwlp.com - Anthony Fay |
| Published: 05/18/2011 |
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SHIRLEY, Mass. (WWLP) - Tamik Kirkland, the escaped inmate who allegedly killed one man and wounded another before shooting a state trooper and Springfield Police officer, had put a dummy in his bed when he escaped from prison, the Massachusetts Department of Corrections says. In a report released Wednesday by DOC spokesperson Dianne Wiffin, it is believed that Kirkland made the dummy sometime after an official head count was taken at 11:30 P.M. on April 24. They believe he escaped MCI-Shirley prison through a third floor window that opened to a fire escape. Kirkland was reported missing at 7:15 A.M. the next morning when it was discovered that he was not there during the morning prisoner count. Under Department of Corrections policy, complete counts of inmates are to be conducted at 11:30 P.M. and 3:00 A.M. The count requires that DOC employees pay attention for signs of a living, moving body, and may use flashlights if necessary. “Staff conducting the non stand-up count shall never take for granted that a lump in the bed is an inmate,” the policy reads. The DOC report says that the officer who was doing rounds that evening saw “living, breathing flesh” during his check of all inmates that night. That officer has been removed from work pending a hearing, and may be terminated. The report says they have also found that the supervisor had failed to observe and document an hourly census count, which is also required by procedure. It is also found that the supervisor was failing to ensure staff members were observing “living, breathing flesh.” It is believed that a contraband cell phone had aided Kirkland in his escape. It is being investigated whether the cell phone was provided by an employee of a DOC vendor, who may have been having an inappropriate relationship with Kirkland. Aside from analyzing Kirkand’s escape, the DOC report provides additional details about Kirkland’s time in prison, as well as the search for the fugitive. Following his escape, Kirkland’s mother, who had recently been wounded in a shooting, was contacted. She told Lieutenant Michael Kradolfer that she had last spoken to her son that Saturday, the day after she was shot. “He was doing so good, this must have been why he escaped,” she said according to the DOC report. According to the DOC, interviews conducted following Kirkland’s escape had revealed that Kirkland’s mother had been shot in retaliation for things he had done prior to his incarceration. Their investigation also revealed that Kirkland had made no phone calls using the prison’s phone system (leading them to believe he somehow had a cell phone,) and received two visits from an associate from the Springfield area nine days before and the day after his mother’s shooting. The Department of Corrections had notified Springfield and State Police of Kirkland’s escape, given the fact that he had lived in the city prior to his incarceration. The US Marshals Service was also notified. Possible addresses that Kirkland may have gone to, and neighborhoods where he might possibly visit were reviewed. Surveillance was done and several searches for Kirkland were conducted. Meanwhile, a search was also being conducted for the man who visited Kirkland in prison. Kirkland had been transferred to MCI-Concord in January 2010, less than two months after he had been sent to MCI-Cedar Junction to serve several sentences, including a 2 to 4 ½ year sentence for possession of a large-capacity weapon without firearm ID. In Concord, a medium security prison, Kirkland had completed a six-week substance abuse and criminal thinking treatment program. In part due to his completion of the program and because he had committed no disciplinary infractions, he was approved for transfer to the minimum-security MCI-Shirley in June. Read More. |
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